Figuring Him Out
by Steve the Icecube
Summary: Steve has never really understood Tony, and he liked him about as much as he knew him. But when Tony gets a minor cold that ends in a lot of his medical problems surfacing, Steve learns that there is a lot more to Tony than the mask.
1. Chapter 1

Steve never understood Tony Stark.

He was a stubborn ass who didn't care for anyone, it seemed, but himself. He claimed he wasn't a team player. But why was he always the one helping the others when they got into a fix? He said he was in a relationship, but Steve saw Pepper around the Tower more than Tony did. And the only words he'd heard them share were arguments.

He claimed that he hated Steve, but why did he look so lonely whenever he was around? And why was there so many very old items of Captain America merchandise around?

Tony just didn't make sense.

Especially when, one day, Tony came down to that weekly Avengers pizza dinner and movie. His eyes were bloodshot, his face slightly puffy and he had dark shadows under his eyes. He seemed quieter than usual.

About halfway through the meal, Natasha looked sternly at Tony. "Tony, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Tony replied, though Steve noticed his voice was a little thick and his breath afterwards was a wet-sounding wheeze.

"You're having trouble breathing." Steve stated. "Don't try lying, I used to have asthma."

Tony sighed. "I have a cold. And I always have trouble breathing."

Steve frowned, concerned, but a look from Tony convinced them all to leave the topic alone.

Tony fell asleep during movie night. It happened often with Bruce, but Tony had never fallen asleep during a team night before.

Tony was snoring quite loudly, and drooling on the sofa. Clint moved to wake him up, annoyed that How To Train Your Dragon (Clint liked children's movies, and it was his choice.) had been interrupted, but Steve shook his head. "Don't wake him." He mumbled. "He looks tired."

Steve was forced to wake Tony up, though, when he started moaning in his sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony's eyes flew open, and he sat up sharply. He felt his breath get caught in his chest. Damn reactor. And damn cold. Freaking common cold. He needed to invent a cure for that.

Steve. In his face. Shit, where did he fall asleep? Right. Movie night. He had a nightmare during movie night.

Well, that game was up. All his façades were falling apart around the Avengers. He'd been able to pretend that there was nothing wrong with his mental health. He pawned everything off on being eccentric, and it worked.

"Tony?" Steve asked, and then turned to Clint. "Pause the movie, please. I don't care if Astrid or whatever her name is just found Hiccup." He added sternly when Clint made a mild noise of protest. Clint paused the movie.

"I'm tired, I'll just go-" Tony started, but Steve cut him off.

"No. You should stay, Tony." He said. "It will help you stay awake."

"I just said I was tired." Tony said sharply. "That means I want to go to my own bed and sleep."

"No you don't, Tony." Bruce said. "You'll go down to your workshop and get drunk, not sleep."

Tony made a sound of disbelief. These people couldn't know him that well, they shouldn't, it had taken Pepper a few years to work that kind of thing out about him. "You shouldn't be drunk when you're ill." Natasha added.

Tony sighed. "I don't need you to babysit me. I'm a grown man, not five."

"Five year olds don't drink alcohol." Clint interrupted.

"I bet you'd had alcohol by the time you were five, Barton." Tony snapped. He'd seen the file. "I certainly had."

Tony saw Steve wince, but brushed it off. "Tony, I don't need you to tell me what you saw in that nightmare, but it was bad and you won't be going back to sleep anytime soon." Steve said firmly. "Stay and watch the rest of the movie."

Tony frowned and sulked for the rest of the movie (but he was too mature to sulk if anyone asked), but he found that it was getting harder to breathe, and the wheeze was getting more pronounced. The second the movie finished he went straight into a coughing fit, which hurt his chest and wracked his whole body. He wasn't oblivious to the concerned looks from his teammates, either. "Ouch." He rasped when the coughing finally came to a close. "Well, I'm going to bed."

"Come down to breakfast in the morning." Steve said, and the warning in his tone was clear. "And don't do anything that will damage your health any further."


End file.
